After a joint concentrated inspection campaign, CIC, in September to November last year the Paris and Tokyo MoUs say that confined/enclosed space entry is generally taken seriously by the industry but there is still a way to go.

The Crew Familiarization for Enclosed Space Entry CIC did not lead to an increase in the rate of detentions however the actual compliance, shown in drills, could be better. 7.9% of drills were found to be unsatisfactory.

Hazards in confined spaces can reach out and touch you even if you haven’t taken a sniff inside. MAC has warned more than once to beware of ‘confined spaces that aren’t’ and here’s another one from the International Association of Drilling Contractors site, IADC, to add to them.

In both cases, crew were enveloped in an oxygen deficient atmosphere, even though they were in the “open air”, while standing over an open hatch/manhole cover to test the confined space below. In both cases a crewmember was rendered unconscious. Although the were no serious injuries, there is still potential for them.

Here’s the IMCA alert:

“A member has reported a serious confined space incident in which a crew member was injured. The incident occurred during quarterly planned maintenance of the leakage detection system in the base of one of the legs of a semi-submersible accommodation unit alongside fixed production platform.

“A crew member lifted the manhole cover to gain access to the tank to undertake planned maintenance.

The crew member was working next to his supervisor who began to lower gas sampling equipment into the tank as part of normal pre-entry checks. Within a minute of the manhole cover being lifted, the gas sampling equipment (which was 3m down into the 6m height of the tank) gave an alarm, and the crew member lost consciousness.

“Subsequent gas sampling during the investigation was undertaken and recorded unexpectedly high levels of hydrogen. The presence of hydrogen can be explained by the electrolytic reaction between the sacrificial anodes and the steel within the ballast tank below the tank being worked upon.

“The crew member who lost consciousness recovered fully with no residual ill health effects.

The company involved made the following recommendations:

Vent ballast tanks regularly in order to prevent hydrogen build-up;

Ensure appropriate steps are taken to purge gases from ballast tanks prior to tank opening;

Using appropriate equipment, conduct tests for the presence of hydrogen before tank entry;

Remain mindful of the potential for build-up of hydrogen in ballast tanks where sacrificial anodes are used;

Do you know what a confined space actually is? Can you identify one by looking at it? When is a confined space hazardous? And when does a non-hazardous space become a dangerous one? This week MAC is looking at no-so-obvious confined spaces and hazards, threats that may go unrecognised.

Toxic fumes killed a 24 year old seafarer aboard a Russian flagged chemical products, Araz River, in the Adriatic. Reports say that the seafarer and two others, who were hospitalised, had been cleaning a tank after unloading a cargo of canola oil at the port of Vasto.

Italian media say that residues of canola oil reacted with detergent being used for cleaning producing fumes that led to respiratory failure.